"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7
Earlier this year Nick Symmonds, a two-time Olympian who trains with Brooks Beasts Track Club and has been a huge advocate for running clean, said he would officially retire from the track after this years' USATF Outdoor Championships. And as expected, he went into his final competition last Thursday giving his all hoping to take first. And even though he placed seventh in the first heat of the 800-meters, he had no regrets retiring because he knew he had done his best, saying, “You know what? I left everything I have on the track. I feel like I did myself justice. I’m a short, stocky kid from Boise, Idaho, who went to a Division III school, and ended up being ranked No. 3 in the world.”
You know the apostle Paul, nearing his retirement from service (he was martyred in A.D. 67), was also a man who could say that he had no regrets. Because he gave everything he had, he could confidently declare, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith". You see, Paul lived every day with one purpose... to fulfill all that Jesus had charged and empowered him to do. Through beatings, imprisonments, trials and shipwrecks, Paul fought and persevered to the end, never once denying his Creator or wavering in his faith. He was most definitely an example for each one of us to follow. Wouldn't you agree?
I wonder then, when you and I are nearing the end of our lives, will we too be able to say that we have no regrets? That we gave all that we had to give and fulfilled all that Jesus had charged and empowered us to do? We can if we, like Paul, live every day with that one purpose.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the reminder that life is too short to have regrets about the way our lives were lived. Help us to live every day with the one purpose of serving you and fulfilling the calling you have placed upon us. Help us to be unwilling to compromise or back down in our fight to the finish line. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!!!
Good fight - Unspoken
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